The Formula 1 rumour mill has been fired up again with French broadcaster Canal+ claiming Valtteri Bottas will replace Kimi Raikkonen at Alfa Romeo.

The main piece of the F1 2022 driver puzzle left to solve is which driver will partner Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes next season: George Russell or Valtteri Bottas?

On Formula 1’s return from its summer break, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff confirmed to the media that the decision has been made internally but an official announcement will be made “soon”.

“Soon”, according to France’s free-to-air F1 TV broadcaster, could be on the race weekend of September 10-12 – the Italian Grand Prix at Monza.